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tv   Public Affairs  CSPAN  May 14, 2013 5:00pm-8:01pm EDT

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they said, president elect would have been president if he didn't say self-deport. is it that sense ty an issue to stand up for the rule of law and the data that gos completely contrary to the allegations they have made, they've fallen back, since they know that this is a huge boon for democrats. they have known that for a long time. in 2006 or so, on a day about like this, there were tens of thousands over on the west lawn of the capitol, teddy kennedy went out before them and said through an interpreter a spanish interpreter, he said some say report to be deported. i say report to become an american citizen. i saw that live on c-span, i wasn't standing next to him that day but that was the message which, we're going to recruit all you folks we're giving amnesty to, to become democrats. they know that. they are working to establish another monolithic voting bloc.
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that's why they spend tens of millions calling republicans racist and somehow the republicans advocating for this ignore that fact. so this is, there's not a rational approach on the part of them, i cannot unravel that approach. it doesn't make sense to me. they say, we have to grant this because it starts a conversation. so they would sacrifice the rule of law on the alter of political expediency for the purposes of starting a conversation that would ensure that republicans don't win another national election new york my view. >> let me follow up on your remarks. i don't do what i do based on votes. but if you want to get into the politics and vote dynamics, i seek the votes of law-abiding american citizens. it doesn't make any difference to me what race they are, what sex they are, where their country of origin is, recently, decades ago, or centuries ago. the american citizens who elected me to office, to the united states congress have done so because i support the rule of
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law. the american citizens i know, from all backgrounds, they support the rule of law. that means that you do not sacrifice your principles for political expediency, that is the wrong direction to go, that undermines what has made america a great country and so i'm going to be doing what i do based on what i think is in the best interest of america and i let the voters decide whether they agree with my approach come the next election. >> we'll break away here as the u.s. house gaveling in for legislative work. three bill this is afternoon, votes at 6:30. any recorded votes on pros posed questions will be taken -- proposed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> i ask unanimous consent that the house suspend the rules h.r. 180. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 32, h.r. 180, a bill to
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encourage, enhance, and integrate blue alert plans throughout the united states in order to disseminate information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in he line of duty. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 180, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. goodlatte: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: tomorrow on the west front of the capitol, we'll honor those law enforcement officers killed last year in the line of duty. gave , 127 officers their lives while protecting america's public safety, including three officers in my home state of virginia. although officer fatalities
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nationwide decreased by 23% from the previous year, 66 of those officers were killed in violent or deliberate attacks. ambush attacks on officers were the leading cause in fatal shootings followed by traffic stops or pursuits, drug-related crimes and robberies. h.r. 180, the national blue alert act of 2013, encourages and enhance nationwide system for distribution of time-sensitive information to help identify a violent suspect when a law enforcement officer is injured or killed in the line of duty. a blue alert broadcast information and speeds apprehensions. blue alerts used the same alert azzam ber alerts for missing children and silver alerts for missing seniors. the blue alert system is a cooperative effort among local, state and federal authorities, law enforcement agencies and the general public.
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it provides a description of an offender still at large and may include the description of the offender's vehicle and license plate information. like amber alerts, blue alerts will help hinder the person's ability to escape and will facilitate their capture. this bill directs the department of justice to designate an existing officer as the blue alert national coordinator who will encourage those states that have not already done so to develop blue alert plans and establish voluntary guidelines. as of today, 18 states have blue alert networks in place. however, there are many examples where an integrated nationwide blue alert system would save lives and help bring fugitive suspects to justice. following the tragic boston marathon bombing last month, one of the suspects shot and killed patrol officer sean collier of the massachusetts institutes of technology police department. one of the subjects approached officer collier as he sat in
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his patrol car and opened fire on him without warning, striking him several times. the subjects then attempted to steal his service weapon but were thwarted by his secured holster. the suspects then car jacked a vehicle and led police on a pursuit while throwing explosive devices at pursuing units. the pursuit ended in watertown, massachusetts, where one suspect was killed and a massachusetts bay transportation authority police officer was shot and seriously wounded in a gun battle. the second suspect was captured in watertown the following evening after another tense standoff. the immediate aftermath of the boston marathon bombing demonstrates how criminals are becoming even more violent and their contempt for law enforcement and the rule of law is ever more -- is more evident than ever. this year is already this year is shaping up to be a deadly year for law enforcement
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fatalities. as compared to this time last year, line of duty deaths are up 21%. line of duty deaths by gunfire are up 07%. this includes ex-fangs of a blue alert communications network through the the united states which would ensure when tragedy strikes the public is on notice and suspects can be more quickly apprehended and brought to justice. a nationwide blue alert network will be particularly effective when a suspect flees across state lines. i thank mr. grimm of new york and mr. reichert of washington for their work on this bipartisan, bicameral legislation. a similar measure is spending -- pending before the senate committee. supporters include the national fraternaled or over police, the federal law enforcement officers association, the sergeants benevolent associate and the national association of police
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organizations. this bill reaffirms our commitment to ensure the safety of law enforcement men and womened on the communities they serve to protect every day. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: i rise in support of h.r. 180 which will establish a coordinator within the department of justice to facilitate issuance of blue alert to help apprehend individuals who are suspected of kills or seriously injuring police officers. i support the bill because it provides critical support far system to protect police officers and the public. it is especially timely as we consider this measure during national police week. it's a week when we recognize law enforcement officers and honor those who have lost their lives in the line of duty. since the first known line of
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uty death in 1791, more than 1rks900 u.s. law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice. today there are more than 900,000 law enforcement officers serving in the united states and on average, one is killed in the line of duty every 57 hours. currently 15 states, including my own state of virginia, have blue alert systems that use immediate ka broadcast and roadside message signs to indicate within their borders time sensitive information about those suspected or killing or severely injuring federal, state, or local law enforcement officers. two more states are establishing blue alert systems this year. the information disseminated which can include the vehicle, the license plate number, enables the public to assist the police in locating perpetrators. h.r. 180 will enable more states
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to enact these measures. to disseminate these alerts across state lines and throughout geographic areas. it's similar to the amber alert program that helps us find missing children and it makes sense that we would encurege similar expansion for the blue alert program. accordfully i urge my colleagues to support this important public safety measure and i have no further requests exr time but i reserve ble the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte. mr. goodlatte: at this time it's my pleasure to thank the gentleman from new york for his authorship and sponsorship of this legislation and yield five inutes to him. >> mr. speaker, i appreciate the opportunity to speak in support of the national blue alert
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unique order for me to have the house consider this legislation during national police week when thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on our nation's capital to honor those that have paid the ultimate price to protect citizens here at home. mr. grimm: on a personal note i'd like to extend my sincere gratitude to the f.b.i. new york field office and the new york city police commissioner ray kelly and all the brave men and women of the nypd for their service to our great city. i encourage all my colleagues to it was ery week f national police week. it is the sacrifices made by these individuals that inspired me to introduce this legislation. during my career as a special agent in the f.b.i. i witnessed firsthand the danger posed by criminals who attack law enforcement officers and the particular danger they pose on
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our community. time and time again we have seen that if criminals are willing to attack a police officer to avoid apprehension, then there is abshrewdly no limit to the lengths they will go or the victims they will target to avoid justice. according to the national law enforcement officers memorial fund, 127 officers were killed in the line of duty during 2012. we can take a look at states that had officers killed that the line of duty from texas to pennsylvania. and while it's impossible to completely transform the hazardous nature of the work our law enforcement officers do day in and day out, there are steps we can take to enhance their safety and quickly apprehend those who put them at risk. the national blue alert act does this by creating a national blue alert communications network within the united states
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being sought in connection with the death or injury of law enforcement officers. i have had the distinct pleasure of working with some of the bravest men and women this country has to offer and i really believe that similar to amber alert, that blue alert would rapidly notify law enforcement agency, notify the media and the public so we can have the help we need to aid in the apprehension of some of the most violent criminals. additionally, this legislation would further encourage the expansion of the blue alert program beyond the handful of states where it's currently existing by helping in developing law alert plans, regional coordination and the development and implementation of new technologies to improve blue alert technologies. this legislation is supported by many, it's supported by a numb of law enforcement organizations, including the sergeants be-- benevolent
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association, the national sheriffs association, the national association of police officer police officers -- police officers as well as the fraternal order of police. i am certain that the national blue alert act will enhance the safety of our communities as well as the law enforcement officers who protect them. i encourage its swift passage today in the full house of representatives. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: does the gentleman from virginia have further speakers? mr. goodlatte: i have no further speakers. mr. scott: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. scott: i thank the gentleman from new york, mr. grimm, my colleague from virginia, mr. goodlatte, and chairman conyers for their help in bringing this bill to the floor during national police week. it's my hope we can continue to work in a bipartisan fashion on other measures that will assist law enforcement officers and find sensible solutions to the
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problems of crime that face our communities. i yield back me -- i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte. mr. goodlatte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i thank my friend and colleague from virginia, the ranking mber of the house jew dish committee, committee on homeland security, for his effort on this legislation as well as ranking member conyers, mr. grimm and chairman sensenbrenner of the subcommittee as well for their efforts and kynt think of a more appropriate time to honor police during national police week or a more appropriate way than by passage of this legislation which will not only allow law enforcement to more effectively communicate in these situations where police officerses are in jeopardy or have been harled but also in circumstances that will
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allow everyone in this country to become involved. with the availability of smart phones and other devices and social media like twitter and facebook and youtube, and other means that people now have of communicating that they didn't have just a few years ago, the word can get out to everyone to be on the lookout for people who are committing crimes and this will help us to apprehend criminals and prevent crimes and we very much urge our colleagues to support it and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules an pass h.r. 180 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: on this, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yes are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until
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counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and n ordered. pursuant to clause of rule 20, rtngs on this motion will be poponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon seek recognition? mr. walden: mr. speaker, i move 1580. ss and pass h.r. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1580, a bill to affirm the policy of the united states regarding internet governance. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from oregon, mr. walden, and the gentleman from vermont, mr. welch, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon. mr. walden: i thank the chair
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and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. and insert extraneous matl into the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. walden: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. walden: i rise in support of h.r. 1580. sometimes called the internet freedom bill. the internet is possibly the most important technological advancement since the printing press. government's hands off approach has made it a powerful engine of social and economic freedom. this bipartisan bill is designed to combat recent efforts by some in the international community to regulate the internet. which could jeopardize not only its vibrancy but also the benefits that it brings to the entire world. nations from across the globe met at the december, 2012, world conference on international telecommunications dubai. they considered changes to the international
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telecommunications regulation. the treaty negotiations were built as a routine view of rules regarding international telephone service. a number of countries, such as russia and china and iran sought to use the negotiations, however, to pursue regulation of the internet through the international telecommunications union, a united nations agency. none other than russian president vladimir putin has been clear in his objective, and i quote, establishing international control over the internet using the supervisory capabilities from the telecommunications union. leading up to the conference last year, the house and senate unanimously passed senate concurrent resolution 50. now, that resolution expressed the sense of congress that the secretary of state and the secretary of commerce should advocate the consistent and unequivocal policy of the united states to promote a
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global internet free from government control and preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the internet today. now, under that multistakeholder model, nonregulatory institutions seek input from the public and private sectors to develop best practices for managing the content, applications, networks that make up the internet. the internet is organized from he ground up, not from the government handed down. this is not to say that government has no role in policing unfair or unlawful, i should say, behavior. illegal activity is no less illegal simply because someone used digital tools to perpetrate the act. child pornography is no less illegal if it's disseminated from the internet rather than in photographs and magazine. there is a difference, however, when punishing illegal acts committed over the internet and government control of its management and operation.
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refraining from regulating the underpinnings of the internet has alloweit to evolve quickly to meet the diverse needs of users around the world and to keep governmental or nongovernmental actors from controlling the design of the network or the content it carries. buttress by the unanimous passage of senate concurrent resolution 50, the united states and 54 other countries left dubai without signing the treaty unfortunately. 89 nations did -- treaty. unfortunately 89 nations did sign. it begins january of 2015. now, a number of upcoming conferences will present additional opportunities for countries to pursue international regulation of the internet, including the world telecommunications i.c.t. policy forum in geneva, which starts today, and the i.t.u. conference in south korea in 2014. growing threat of such regulation prompted the subcommittee of which i chair, the house energy and commerce subcommittee on communications
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and technology, to hold a joint hearing earlier this year with the house committee on foreign affairs. just as international opponents of unregulated internet are redoubling their efforts, so must we. that's why the hearing we held, elevating the language of last year's resolution from a mere sense of congress aimed at particular treaty negotiation to a generalized statement of u.s. law. i want to thank foreign affairs chairman ed royce, africa global health -- global human rights and international organization subcommittee chairman chris smith and terrorism, nonproliferation and trade subcommittee chairman ted poe for their leadership and their help in calling attention to this important legislation and the issue broadly. i also want to address the elephant in the room, if you will, the f.c.c.'s network neutrality regulation. as the legs we consider today was moving through the subctt then the fu concerned language of last year's that transforming the exact unanimous resolution into law
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would somehow interfere with the f.c.c.'s network neutrality rules. in particular, they saw conflict with the language making it u.s. policy to, quote, promote a global internet free from government control, closed quote. well, let me be clear. while i oppose the f.c.c.'s rules regulating the internet, this legislation does not address this regulation. while they can help delineate the contours of statutory authority, they don't create statutorily mandated responsibilities. none the less, in terms of moving this important legislation forward, i agreed to drop the government control language. the result is the language you see today in h.r. 1580 which i introduced with ranking member eshoo. this bill would make it u.s. policy to preserve and advance the successful internet. so passing h.r. 1580 will show we are united against efforts
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against authoritarian nations to regulate the internet. for the stake of the internet and the freedoms it brings, i ask my colleagues to vote for the bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from vermont. mr. welch: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my colleague and my chair in the subcommittee and thank you for your fine leadership. your leadership on this legislation as well. i'm pleased to support h.r. 15820, as my colleague meng -- h.r. 1580. it's to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the internet. it works. if it ain't broke don't fix it. the internet has been unique and powerful. as a driver of social and economic progress, it's changing nearly every part of the american economy and society. everything from education to health care delivery to agriculture. this is especially true for
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rural communities where communications technology can have an even greater impact on areas where populations are small and distances are vast. the internet enables connections from even the most far flung corners of the country with goods and services around the globe allowing rural america to compete just as effectively in the 21st century digital economy. a critical element of the internet success story has been the open manner in which the internet is governed. rather than relying on centralized troll by government, the internet instead adopts a multistakeholder model in which all who have an interest can have the voice in the internet's operation. lately, however, the multistakeholder model toward internet governance has been under assault on the global stage. at the world conference on international telecommunications in dubai last december, as my colleague mentioned, the international
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telecommunications union adopted several proposals that could fundamentally alter the way the internet orates. these proposals undermine the successful decentralized approach to internet governs and impose a government -- governance and impose a government management, thereby threatening citizens' access to information and content via the internet as well as the global free flow of information online. i'm pleased that congress unanimously passed a resolution last year urging the administration to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model. that's what we want to govern the internet today and tomorrow. i applaud the decision by the u.s. delegation not to sign that final treaty, but efforts to bring the internet under the control ofnational regulatory bodies continues. this week member states of the international telecommunications union will meet again in geneva to debate
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issues surrounding global internet governance. passage of h.r. 1580 will be timely and wruns again demonstrating the -- once again demonstrating the unwaivering support from this congress. i want to thank chairman upton and chairman walden and their staff for working with us on the democratic side to address the concerns. ranking member waxman and ranking member eshoo raised these concerns during the bill's markup in the energy and commerce committee, and we worked it out. mr. walden, thank you. i appreciate the modifications made to the bill which makes it clear that the policy -- this policy statement will not implicate the legitimate activities of the u.s. government online or the authorities of federal agencies. because of these changes, democrats and republicans in congress once again stand united with the administration in its efforts to resist
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proposals that would undermine the existing multistakeholder approach. i join my colleague, mr. walden, in urging my colleagues on the democratic side to vote for this bill so we can once again demonstrate that there is support across the entire political spectrum for continuing the multistakeholder model that allows the internet to thrive for the benefit of every american and citizens around the world. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from oregon. mr. walden: mr. speaker, i don't believe which have any other speakers on other side at this time. i don't know -- mr. welch: we have no other speakers either. mr. walden: i would be willing to just close with a comment and would just suggest the importance of -- mr. welch: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oregon. mr. walden: i would close, mr. speaker, in encouraging my colleagues to support this legislation. freedom of the internet is
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essential as america's long constitutional belief in freedom of the press, and we on't need governments, ours or others, maintaining the freedom of the press. and so with that i would yield back and encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1580. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- the gentleman from oregon. mr. walden: mr. speaker, on that i would request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. walden: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise will rise and remain standing until counted. -- will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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for what purpose does the gentlewoman from michigan seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i would move to suspend the rules and agree in senate concurrent resolution 10. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: senate concurrent resolution 10, concurrent resolution authorizing the use of emancipation hall in the capitol visitors' center for an event to celebrate the birthday f king kameamea. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from michigan. mrs. miller: i ask that all have five legislate i
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days to revise and extend their remarks. n june 11, hawaiians will be celebrating the birthday of king kamehameha who unified the king the islands into the kingdom of hawaii. he is remembered for his law, known as the law of the splintered paddle which specifically protects civilians lawartime and is a model of today. of king kamehameha in
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statuary hall was given by the hawaiian people, every year it beautiful leis. i urge my colleagues to support this rule and i reserve the balance of mu time. -- the balance of my time. ms. hanabusa: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as may oy -- as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. hanabusa: i thank chairman miller fnd ranking member brady for allowing this bill to be heard on the floor today. as is stated, the concurrent resolution would permit the use of emancipation hall to allows kamehameha. king he has a unique history and hawaii is the only kingdom that's part of the united states. this is going to be the 44th time such a celebration has
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taken place in the united states capitol. june 11 is a state holiday in hawaii, a day of celebration honoring king kamehameha. he was believed to be born around 1758 and credited if -- and credited with unifying the major islands by 1810. by uniting the islands, he secured hawaii's future as a viable and recognized political entity. king kamehameha was the first in the line of hawaiian royalty who held the needs of their people as their foremost authority. the king's commitment to the waiian people is shown today continued by ns his progeny, such as schools and
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children's homes. these provide crucial services to native hawaiians while ensuring the maintenance of our state's unique identity. the lea haye lei that we'll be draping is a special bond a relationship between two people that is figuratively represented by the stringing of flowers together in a circle. lei -- kamehameha ei draping shows our honor for his sacrifice in and success in unifying our hawaiian home and our relationships with one another and the responsibility we all share to care for one another. the significance of holding the ceremony in the capitol of the united states cannot be underemphasized as it
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demonstrates to the nation and the world that the rights and needs of the people should always be at the heart of the work that we do here. this is the legity -- legacy of king kamehameha and his progeny and we should honor them with this event. the celebration of king kamehameha for over 100 years in hawaii. it was first recognized in 1871 when hawaii was still a kingdom his great a v, grandson. considered a state holiday when hawaii became a state. in hawaii, the le dimbings-draping ceremon celebrated a as two-day festivity in tribute to the the great king. we celebrate it with parades, hula music, chanting, story
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telling, and art. it is the way for hawaiians to celebrate our history. the american sculptor thomas gould was commissioned by the kingdom of hawaii to create the statue. and s sculpted in 1879 completed in 1880 but the ship trchting the original from germany sank and in 1883, the second statue made its way to hawaii. the first statue was ultimately recovered and erected on the big island, and that is where the king's birth place is. the statue stands 8 1/2 feet tall with the king in his royal clothing. hameha wears a helmet and cloak. they are finished with gold leaf reminiscent of the rare yellow feathers from the mamo bird the
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king wore. the spear in his left hand is the symbol of his kingdom and the fact that he is willing to defend it and his right hand is extended in toward the direction of the hawaiian islands. the statue in emancipation hall in the capitol visitor's center is a mold of the second statue which stands in front of our home of the hawaii supreme court. this was dedicated as a gift to the national statuary hall from hawaii in the year 1969. as everyone knows, president obama was born in hawaii. and on union 20, 2010, president obama issued proclamation 8534 in honor of the bicentennial of the unification of hawaii. resident obama said, on this
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bicentennial, king kamehameha day, we celebrate the history and heritage of the aloha state which has immeasurably enriched our nation's life and culture. the hawaiian narrative is one of both profound triumph and sadly, deep injustice. it is the story of native hawaiians, oppressed by crippling disease, aborted fetuses and eventual conquest of their sovereign kingdom. these grim milestones remind us of an unjust time in our history as well as the many pitfalls in our nation's long and difficult journey to perfect itself. yet, through the peaks and valleys of our american story, hawaii's steadfast sense of community and mutual support shows the progress that results when we are united in the spirit of limitless possibilities.
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mr. speaker, that is what this celebration means to us. it is a symbol of how the hawaii people have the spirit of limitless possibility. thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentlewoman from michigan. mrs. miller: i ask my colleague if she has any speaker, if not, and if she's prepared to yield back, i am prepared to close. ms. hanabusa: mr. speaker, we don't have any -- oh, there she is. mrs. miller: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from hawaii. ms. hanabusa: i yield five nutes to the gentlelady from awaii. ms. gabrd -- ms. gabard: i rise
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today in support of s.con.res. 10 to authorize the use of emancipation hall in the capitol visitor center to celebrate the birthday of king kamehameha. this is a beautiful state andday, filled with parades lei-drapings at the statues. one of the statues stands here in washington, d.c. at the capitol visitors center. for the last 43 years we have kamehameha's birthday here in washington, d.c. kamehameha the great was a fearless leader he established his dynasty by uniting the eight major islands of the cha u his rule. by uniting the islands, he helped protect his people during a time of great cultural change.
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king kamehameha i is known for his prowess in war but is also nown for his humanity. we honor king kamehama on his birthday and welcome visitors both to hawaii and here to our nation's capitol and appreciate the opportunity to tell a little bit about one of our great heroes. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the jerusalem from -- the gentlewoman from hawaii. ms. hanabusa: we have no more speakers, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan. mrs. miller: mr. speaker, i would certainly ask, and urge, all my colleagues to support this very bipartisan legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to senate concurrent resolution 10? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the --
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for what purpose does the gentlewoman from michigan rise? mrs. miller: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking the vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1rk the chair declares the house tim scott was appointed to the senate. and later this week, work on a bill sponsored by minnesota republican michele bachmann
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that calls for a full repeal of the 2010 health care law. hear more about that bill. >> jennifer is health reporter for "politico." why are house republicans setting up another bill on repealing the health care law of 2010? >> well, they really got some opposition from their freshmen members and most conservative members saying that the house isn't doing enough to repeal the health law. obviously president obama has been re-elected. this is his law and he's never going to allow repeal to get past his desk, but that doesn't mean house republicans don't want to make a statement and make it clear to the public that they continue to fight this law. >> how many times have house republicans tried to repeal the law? >> this will be the 37th vote to repeal a portion of the law. there's been 37 votes, most of them were in the last three years, but this will be only the third time they've attempted full repeal of the law. >> what are republicans saying specifically about the health care law that they say hurts the economy?
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>> well, you know, it's a lot of things that are going to start to go into effect early going to be re's requirements on employers to either provide coverage or pay penalties. we're already seeing some insurance rates announced this summer for next year. they're likely going to be increases in rates. they say that's going to hurt the public so that's why they want to continue to put attention on the law. >> so the democrats have seen this debate before. you mentioned all the other times attempts at repealing or votes on repeal anyway. what are democrats saying on this go around? >> they basically will say this is more of the same and congress could spend their time doing better things that help the economy. they say it's wasting this time and taxpayer money that the senate won't take up and the president would certainly veto if it ever got that far. >> you mentioned there are a number of parts of the law that will be implemented. when will the law be fully implemented?
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>> the significant portion will be implemented next year. that's when the requirements to buy insurance or pay a penalty will go into effect. that's when employers will have to provide coverage or pay a penalty and when the insurance exchanges, which are the marketplaces where you can buy insurance, will go into effect next year too. >> there was a bill that came up on the house floor that was pulled kind of at the last minute. can you tell us about that bill and whether it's coming back to the floor? >> that was the helping sick americans now act and that bill would have taken money from the health law prevention fund to extend the life of these high-risk insurance pools. one of the first pieces of legislation to go into effect where it was supposed to provide coverage to very, very sick people that have a hard time finding insurance. they went into effect in 2010 and set to expire at the end of next year. the white house said that these pools were going to run out of money so they cut off new
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enrollees in the pools. republicans said, you know, this is a mistake. you know, democrats -- obviously it was kind of sarcastic but said democrats are leaving the sickest americans uninsured. so they said this arrangement, taking money out of the prevention fund into the high-risk pools, was going to help them. but many conservatives and freshmen members said that that looked like it was pumping up the health law and they didn't want to do that, particularly because they hadn't voted on full repeal. so republicans say once they vote on full repeal they can potentially come back to this helping sick americans act. i think it's yet to be determined whether that's going to be enough to bring those conservative republicans around, but they're hoping this is the first step. >> well, in addition to this full repeal bill that's coming up in the house, are there any other health care-related pieces of legislation out there that you're keeping your eye on?
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>> this is the main one right now. i think we'll see more hits against the health law, but i don't think that's going to be anytime soon. >> jennifer haberkorn who is the health care reporter at "politico," thanks for the update. >> thank you. >> the repeal of the 2010 health care law is expected on the house floor later this week. earlier today, the senate agriculture committee considered amendments to a five-year farm bill which sets national agriculture, nutrition, conservation policy. here's part of that hearing starting with opening statements from members. >> good morning. i ask everyone to take their seats. we're starting off this morning with some michigan chocolate mints and georgia peanuts. so it's a good way to start this morning. we will call the senate committee on agriculture and nutrition to order. we're here today, of course, to
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mark up our committee bill for the 2013 farm bill. the agriculture reform food and jobs act. last year in the middle of a hard-fought election year and the swirling partisan battles on capitol hill, we in the senate agriculture, nutrition and forestry committee came together. we sat around this table. we worked together in a bipartisan way to craft a new kind of farm bill, one with major reforms, deficit reduction and a commitment to the diversity of american agriculture. even more important, our work last year had our commitment to the 16 million men and women in this country whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and on whom we depend for our food. 16 million people who at the end of a long day's work gather
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with their families around tables very much like this one. in the wake of the worst drought in decades, a drought that persists in many parts of our country, the talk at those tables is increasingly about worries for the future. we saw last year undeniable proof that farming is the riskiest business in the country, which is why this farm bill is so very important. when senator cocker and i sat at the beginning of the year, we agreed we wanted to build on the successes of last year. together we have crafted another strong farm bill that gives farmers the ability to manage their risk, that streamlines programs and cuts red tape for farmers and that recognizes the diversity of agriculture from the cotton fields in the mississippi delta to the cherry orchards in traverse city, michigan. we also continue our commitment
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to deficit reduction with more than $23 billion in savings, and we will be working with c.b.o. as we move through and the manager's amendment and fine tune this in terms of our final score, but i'm confident that we have hit above $23 billion in savings. agriculture has been willing to do frankly more than its part. from the first debate in the supercommittee to the farm bill we passed last year. this bill reflects agriculture's cuts from the sequester and goes beyond that in spending reductions by making tough decisions and setting priorities that makes sense for farmers, families and taxpayers as well. the bill includes a stronger commitment to conservation. one born out of the efforts by both conservation, environmental and agriculture
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groups who sat down together themselves to find a way to protect our soil and water resources necessary to keep agriculture strong in america for generations to come. this bill continues our support for the most vulnerable families, people who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own and need help putting food on the table for their families. we cracked down on abuses in the system without attacking the basic structure of support that many families have needed to get themselves through the tough economy. the good news is spending on nutrition services is going down as our economy is growing and more people are getting back to work. i want to thank my ranking member and friend, senator cochran, whose deep knowledge and experience have been very valuable. as we sit in this room, we see a wonderful portrait on the wall because of senator
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cochran's leadership as chairman of this committee and it's been and continues to be a real pleasure to work with someone with such incredible knowledge and experience in agriculture. he's been an excellent partner, and i greatly appreciate his hard work but also the hard work of his staff. and i also want to thank my staff together. i think they have done an outstanding job. this is tough, frankly, for all of us as we look at changing a system, moving to more risk-based approaches and yet making sure we are addressing regional differences. not an easy thing, but i believe as we consider the manager's amendment today that we have in fact done that and there are many people around this table that deserve a lot of hard work for getting us there. let me just conclude by saying it's our job to make sure that 16 million americans that work in agriculture have a long-term policy that works for them,
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because they're the ones giving us the most safest, most affordable food supply in the world and that's why we're here. i'd like now to turn to my friend and ranking member, senator cochran, and then we will alternate opening statements between the majority and minority in order of seniority today. and we also, if you'd like to submit a longer version for the record, we would be happy to accept it. senator cochran. >> madam chair woman, thank you very much for your leadership in drafting this farm bill. it's going to save off the baseline $24 billion over the life of the bill. the bill reflects fiscal responsibility but provides a workable and strong safety net for families and producers of food and fiber that we hope they never need. we've made some reductions. we've streamlined and consolidated programs. there's also significantly less
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mandatory money authorized for energy programs than in the 2008 farm bill. i think it's important that we move the bill through the congress and the president for his signature. farmers and ranchers need the certainty that comes from a five-year farm bill. we've tried to be fair to those affected by the bill as well as to those who pay the bill. we hope this is a workable bill that encourages conservation of land and water resources. at the same time it rewards production of reasonably priced commodities. we need to move the process forward, get to the senate floor and negotiate ultimately with the house of representatives in conference and reserve our differences. we hope the president will sign our bill. i think it deserves his support. thank you. >> thank you very, very much. i'd now like to turn for opening statements, we will start with senator brown.
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i want to know -- we want to thank senator brown at this point for the brevity of his opening statement -- >> i think he may go after me. >> all right. all right. senator klobuchar. >> i will be brief. i have to go back and forth to the immigration markup in judiciary, madam chairwoman. it's been 327 days that since the senate passed the last farm bill in june of 2012. since that time farmers, ranchers, rural communities in america have been through a lot. in 2012 we had the worst drought since 1956, costing the country billions of dollars. in minnesota, 74 counties were eligible for disaster relief due to the drought. the drought continues to threaten farms and ranches across our state. while we can't do much about the weather, we can do a lot to make sure that farmers and ranchers have the safety net that they need. we should not be delaying the passage of this farm bill in
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congress. i'm so pleased with the work this committee has done. the bipartisan work this committee has done. and i'm also pleased we found a way to do this with still reducing the debt. we've eliminated direct payments and further focused farm programs on our family farmers. and i urge this committee to stick with the $23 billion target to make sure we have the strongest bill go to the floor and have a conference with the house. in minnesota, specifically, we're pleased with the disaster relief provisions in here, the energy focus. the fact that the sugar program which is tens of thousands of jobs in our state remains in this bill. the no cost program, and overall we think it's been a great job. i've loved working with the committee members. i want to thank you for your leadership and we look forward to getting this bill to the floor and not having another 327 days pass. thank you, madam chair. >> thank you very, very much. we turn to senator roberts and say, as we look at this bill
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going forward, it is based and overwhelmingly remains the bill that we passed together last time. it was a pleasure working with you at that time, and we continue to work together to make sure we have the strongest bill possible. o senator roberts. >> please don't take this out of my time. if i could pass her a note. >> would you like to read the note? is this like passing a note in class? i'm not sure. >> if you'll just nod your head if that will be fine. thank you. madam chairwoman, ranking member cochran, it's a privilege to be here today as we mark up the new farm bill, the agriculture, food, farm and
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jobs act for 2013. for the last two years, as you've pointed out, we have been yet to sign a reformed farm bill into law. unfortunately, we were unable to do this in 2012. now we're back around this table once again. that's not unusual for a farm bill. last year i was proud to say we put together a bipartisan bill that strengthened and preserved the safety net, i.e., in all the hearings we had, number one issue with farmers, ranchers, lenders was crop insurance. i think this certainly benefits all of our producers and rural america too, and we also provide a close to $24 billion in deficit reduction. we've even passed a bill through the senate with regular order. imagine that. it is beyond our -- pardon me -- let me be clear, i still want to pass a provide long-term certainty to farmers and ranchers and their families in kansas and across the country. however, it stands today, i do
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not believe this is a reform bill. i believe it is a rear-view mirror bill. target prices under any name, whether they are countercyclical payments, adverse market payments or government subsidies, which are proven to be trade and market distorting, is beyond frustrating that a year ago we passed a bill with no countercyclical program, real reform and today we're asked to support the adverse market payment program which continues target prices for all commodities, even though there are areas in the country where we do not want them. we are literally trading and saving the direct payments that we knew we had to give up. this mark not only sets target prices but raised the guarantee price level by $2.80 to $13.30 and peanuts jump from their $495 target price to $523. these prices are set so high they may cover a producer's full cost of production. essentially guaranteeing that a farmer profits if yields are
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average or above average. in this budget environment time when we're looking to make smart cuts to farm programs, i don't know how to justify a farm bill that pays farmers more than the cost of production and essentially becomes more than another income transfer program not a risk management tool. . it is guaranteeing a producer $2.40 per 100 whey profit and this amendment would guarantee that delta farmer a profit of about $190 per acre. of course the real problem with farmers planning for a government program and not for the market is that these programs only serve to extend the period of low prices. we all know this is not good policy. and it's bound to have unintended consequences like impacting planning decisions. when base acres were established over 25 years ago, kansas planted 2.8 million acres of corn, 4.2 million acres of
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sombings rgsorgrum and 12.1 million acres of wheat. we were mono agriculture. in the most recent three-year period, kansas farmers planted 4.6 million acres of corn, 2.6 million acres of sorgum, and 8.8 million of wheat. that's about five million fewer acres of wheat and 4.2 more acres of corn and soybean. these figures are mirrored in many other cropping regions, especially in the midwest. these acreage shifts occurred because farmers made those decisions. not washington. our producers have planted for the domestic and international markets. i also have long standing w.t.o. concerns, the united states lost the cotton w.t.o. case to brazil and part of the decoupled price target program. it is not right for -- to force that same risk onto other commodities when we already know the potential pitfalls. the w.t.o. still was hot. we should not reach out to touch
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it again. i hope that we kim prove upon this bill today, to more resemble the risk-oriented and market-based approach this committee has previously taken as of last year. thank you. >> thank you very much. senator brown. senator brown is passing. >> thank you for this hearing. i will sub might my -- submit my statement for the record. i will just articulate one priority. obviously it is a priority for all of us here in the senate to reduce our debt and deficit. it's something we are all here to do. it is also a priority for to us create a growing economy but i just want to make the statement that families who are living in poverty, our children, our veterans, our seniors, some of our active duty personnel, are going to suffer if we cut food stamps. and i believe that we should not be balancing the debt or the deficit on the backs of these hardworking americans who are just hungry. and i think it is a moral statement and obviously i will fight against any cuts to the
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food stamp program and i want people to think about what they're actually doing when they're offering the nature of these amendments. thank you. the rest of my statement will be submitted for the record. >> without objection, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. first of all, let me commend you and the ranking member on working hard once again to produce what we all know from firsthand experience is a very difficult bill to produce. the process is always difficult to go through, trying to match up all regions and all crops. but i want to commend you. and i think we all agree that the farm bill needs to provide an effective safety net for farmers and ranchers to rely on in times of need. agriculture producers face a combination of challenges such as weather, input costs and maet volatility, it's all combined to determine profit or loss in any given year. the 2008 farm bill provided a strong safety net program for
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producers and successive legislation must adhere and onto the same commitment made five years ago. and while i appreciate the comments of my friend from kansas relative to the approach in the changes that were made between last year and this year, we're not guaranteeing anybody a profit. the 2008 bill was most market-oriented bill we've ever seen. all you have to do is look at the reaction of the markets to determine that. we've had less payments coming out of washington on the 2008 farm bill than i'm certain without even doing the research of any other farm bill in recent memory. with the proposal in the 2012 farm bill, that was going to be reversed. but with the approach that the chairman and the ranking member have made here, i think our mmitment tange standpoint is g
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restoolted. the biggest issue facing our country now -- reinstituted. the biggest issue facing our country now is the growing debt and deficit. with the impacts of sequestration taking into account this bill provides around $23 billion in savings from mandatory programs to go towards deficit reduction. that is remarkable, that you've been able to craft a bill with that kind of number in there, and under the conditions that we're operating in. i understand there are different ideas around this table as to what is the best safety net. i urge my colleagues to recognize that one program does not fit all. the bill before us attempts to provide producers with options to find what works best for them and that's a step in the right direction. that's something we've never done before, is to give the kind of options that are available in this bill. a new program known as adverse market protection seeks to serve the needs of those who are not protected by the agricultural
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risk coverage and crop insurance programs. it's imperative that the farm safety net provide protection for multiyear price declines, especially for southern crops like rice and peanuts. sense of protection provided by a.r.c. and crop insurance simply don't work and aren't sufficient. also i'd like to recognize that the cotton policies contained in the chair's mark represent fundamental reform in the sport provided cotton farmers. reforms that contribute $2.8 billion in savings toward this committee's budget target. legislation eliminates all -- and changes all title 1 programs, providing direct support to those involved in cotton production and puts us down the path to resolving the w.t.o. dispute with brazil. this is going to be my fourth and final farm bill as a member of congress. as a member of this committee, i'm in strong support of georgia agriculture for 20 years, i've witnessed several dispute, especially regional disputes.
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resolving those disputes and doing the important work for our country's agricultural industry has been the business of this committee since and i am confident that we can balance the needs and interests between commodities and regions. in order to reach our common goal of getting a farm bill across the finish line. madam chair, i thank you for your great work, thank the ranking member and i look forward to our discussion today. >> thank you very much, senator chambliss. i also want to recognize your leadership over the years because we also have a wonderful opportunity to look at it, another portrait on the wall that is a symbol of your leadership and you will be missed both in this committee and i know by the senate. but we very much appreciate your dedication over the years and your involvement and your expertise in agriculture. so thank you. senator donnelly, we welcome you to the committee and it's great
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for me to have another great lake senator, senator brown and i, we love adding another great lakes senator. so we appreciate your leadership. >> thank you. i'm honored to be a part of this committee and look forward to a solid farm bill and look forward to the work involved. >> thank you very much. senator bozeman. >> thank you, madam chair, and ranking member cochrane. we appreciate you having the markup today and for all of your hard work in bringing forward this bipartisan and reform-oriented legislation. like all of the other members of this committee, i recognize that our producers need a strong five-year farm bill that ensures our nation will continue to have the world's safest, most affordable and most reliable food supply and fiber. we know that the only way to accomplish this is for this committee to report a bipartisan bill that provides a safety net for all crops and regions, invest in the future of rural
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america, preserves the safety net for the most vulnerable members of our communities and finally a bill that includes significant reforms and contributes to reducing our federal deficit. the chair and ranking member, as well as their staffs, have demonstrated tremendous leadership in negotiating this delicate compromise that brings us closer than ever to achieving these capstone principles and i appreciate the managers package included to my amendments. while this bill before us leaves room for improvement in terms of meeting all the needs of our producers and increasing efficiency, its framework is a tremendous step in the right direction. i think we're all well on our way to getting a five-year bill that achieves all of our objectives and combats both chambers of congress -- and can pass both chambers of congress. i have strong reservations of lowering target prices to 55% of simple average except for rice and cotton. this leaves a gap in the price protection part of this safety
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net and puts rice and peanuts in a separate calculation from other crops. it is true that rice and peanuts are in need of an update of their reference price but providing them with their own special calculations separates from other crop -- raises serious concerns. this committee on behalf of our nation's procedures of food and fiber has included $23 billion in reforms from 2012 spending levels. we have eliminated the direct payment and countercyclical programs which is no easy task and we placed them with a new -- replaced them with new programs, improved crop insurance and lowered government spending. this new fabric of risk management tools provides a responsive, market-oriented safety net for the future of american agriculture. we've also reformed the conservation title in this bill, reducing the number of programs and achieved savings but in a way that continues to give farmers and ranchers the tools they need to protect our environment. finally, madam chair, i would
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like to say that i realize that there continue to be some regional differences and i think that everyone sees things in this bill that they may not like. at the same time i have to offer my appreciation to you and ranking member cochrane for finding common ground here in gettto framework where there's greater equity for all crops and regions. if we cannot work together to preserve and improve on this delicate balance you've created then we undermine our ability to live up to our committee's responsibility to get a five-year bill done. i'm confident that the only way we can get a five-year bill -- farm bill is by moving legislation that has broad, bipartisan support and is supported by members from all regions. the framework included in your mark is indicative of years -- yours and the ranking member's commitment on these principles and i continue to look forward to working with you throughout the rest of this process and seeing a five-year farm bill signed into law this year. i yield back. >> thank you very much. because we are going back and forth on the base of seniority,
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-- [no aud yo]o [no audio]
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>> beer having a problem with -- we're having a problem with the heafering that we were watching. the house is expected back at 6:30 eastern for votes and later this week, a bill sponsoreded by minnesota republican michele bachmann calling for a repeal of the 2010 health care law. here's more about that. host: jennifer is a health reporter with plitcode. why are house republicans setting up another vote on repealing the health care law of 2010? guest: they really got some opposition from their freshmen members saying that the house isn't doing enough to repeal the health law. obviously president obama has been re-elected. this is his law and he's never going to allow repeal to get past his desk but that doesn't mean that house republicans don't want to make a statement and make it clear to the public that they continue to fight this law.
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host: how many times have house republicans tried to repeal the law? guest: this will be the 37th vote to repeal a portion of the law. there's been 37 vote, most of them were in the last three years. but this will be only the third time that they've attempted full repeal of the law. >> what are republicans saying specifically about the health care law that they say hurts the economy? >> it's a lot of things that are going to start to go into effect early next year that's going to be requirements on employers to either provide coverage or pay penalties. we're already seeing some insurance rates announced this summer for next year. there are likely going to be increases in rates. they say that's going to hurt the public. so that's why they want to continue to put attention on the law. >> so the democrats have seen this debate before. you mentioned all the other times -- attempts at repealing or votes on repeal anyway. what are democrats saying on this go-around? >> they're basically saying this is more of the same and congress could spend their time doing
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better things that help the economy. they say it's really -- it's silly to waste all this time and taxpayer money on something that the senate won't take up and the president would veto. >> you mentioned that there are a number of parts to the law that have yet to be. when will the law be full yimplemented? -- fully implemented? >> a significant portion will be implemented next year. that's when the requirement to buy insurance or pay a penalty is going to go into effect. that's when employers will have to provide coverage or pay a penalty and when the insurance exchanges, which are the marketplaces where you can buy insurance, will go into effect next year, too. >> there was a bill that came up on the house floor that was polled, kind of at the last minute. can you tell us about that bill and whether it's coming back to the floor? >> that was the helping sick americans now act and that bill would have taken money from the health law's prevention fund to extend the life of these high-risk insurance pools. one of the first pieces of law to go into effect was the
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high-risk pools that were supposed to provide coverage to very, very sick people who often have a hard time finding insurance. they went into effect back in 2010 and are set to expire at the end of this year. before these marketplaces that i mentioned earlier go into effect. the white house said that these pools were going to run out of money so they cut off new enrollees in the pools. republicans said, you know, this is a mistake, democrats -- obviously it was kind of sarcastic but said democrats are leaving the sickest americans uninsured. so they said that this arrangement, taking money out of the prevention fund, into the high-risk pools was going to help them. but many conservative and freshmen members said that that looks like it was pumping up the health law. and they didn't want to do that. particularly because they hadn't voted on full repeal. but republicans say that once they vote on full repeal they could potentially come back to
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this helping sk americans act. i think it's yet to be determined whether that's going to be enough to bring those conservative republicans around but they're hoping that this is the first step. >> in addition to this full repeal bill that's coming up in the house, are there any other health care-related pieces of legislation out there that you're keeping your eye on? >> this is the main one right now. think we're going to see more things but that's not going to be any time soon. >> jennifer haberkorn. read more at "politico".com. thanks for the update. >> thank you. >> the house is expected back in in about 15 minutes for votes. until then, a senate republicans, after their party meeting today, where they talked about the i.r.s. targeting certain political groups.
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>> ok. good afternoon, everyone. i want to make a few observations about the administration's abuse of power. we now have focused the attention of everyone, including all of you, on the length to which the administration's willing to go to quiet the voices of its critics. my colleagues, including senator hatch, our ranking member on the finance committee, will focus at least to some extent on the i.r.s. i want to talk to the broader picture here. over the last year, actually going back to 2009 now, as i think about it, we've seen the efforts of the administration to quiet the voices of their critics. back during the debate on obamacare, it was the directive by the secretary of h.h.s. to help insurance companies that
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they could not tell their customers, those who bought their products, what they thought about obamacare. a directive from the secretary of.s. quieting the voices of critics of obamacare. now you've noticed the secretary s out raising money from the private sector, people who are dependent upon the government's regulations, to help the government convince the public that obamacare is a good measure. we've had examples of initiatives over at the securities and exchange commission, the federal communications commission and of course continually at the f.e.c. tone gauge in the kind of government regulatory activity that is targetedt silencing the critics being critical of all of
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you, but most of you haven't paid much attention to any of that. but now i think you get it. and i think the american people get it because everybody understands what the i.r.s. is. many people think that the most powerful agency of the federal government, with the ability to literally put people out of business. we've seen what they can do and there is a measure that i expect we'll see from the democrats because we saw it in the previous congress and the one before that called the disclose act which is designed to give the i.r.s. even more power directly to quiet the voices of the critics of this administration. it's important that not only that legislation be defeated but that the administration get the message that the federal government should not be used to quiet the voices of the critics
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of the obama administration. let me turn to senator hatch in particular on the i.r.s. issue. > let me just say this, that i've never seen anything quite like this except in the past during the nixon years. what the i.r.s. asserted on friday is simply not true. it wasn't just some local staffers in the cincinnati office. in fact, that's a pretty important office in the i.r.s. very senior management at the i.r.s. here in washington knew what was going on for over a year and they didn't even say a word. in fact, after the i.r.s. leadership learned of this, they sent congress letters saying that the targeting of conservative groups wasn't happening. this was either one of the greatest cases of incompetence that i've ever seen or it was the i.r.s. willfully not telling
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congress the truth. at no point in time did anyone at the i.r.s. think it appropriate to set the record straight. not at one point. now, the american people deserve the truth. there's no single agency in government that has the power that the i.r.s. has. they can destroy people and frankly this is an agency that can create more fear in the hearts of people than any other agency. what we need to know, let me just mention three things. why didn't the i.r.s. correct the record once it became clear conservative groups were targeted? i sent them at least three letters on this. how high on the chain of command in the obama administration did this go? before it was revealed that this was happening last friday? why did it take a treasury inspector general report to get the i.r.s. to own up to this? these are questions that have to be answered and there's a reason
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congress is the co-equal branch of government. something i wonder if the administration fully appreciates. and we are going to fully examine what they are doing to ensure the people of our nation have confidence that we are looking after the public and for the public interest. senator bachus says he's willing to hold hearings on this, willing to look into it, willing to get into it and do it the appropriate way. we're talking about liberty here. we're talking about the right of freedom in america. and if we can manipulate the i.r.s., if the administration can do that or anybody in the administration or anybody in the i.r.s. can do that, then everybody in this country's got to be very, very fearful. and freedoms will be lost, liberty will be lost and we'll all be the worse for it. >> by any err -- measure it's
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been a tough few days for the administration. the president today got four pinocchios on his story in benghazi from "the washington post." we also know obviously that the statements were made to members of congress that the i.r.s. was not targeting political speech that the administration disagreed with is absolutely false and we learned from gal up that half of small businesses -- gallop that half of all small businesses are saying that the implementation of obamacare is hurting their business, not helping. but in 2011 and 2012, i had constituents in texas, groups like king street patriot, that -- tea party group it's from waco and san antonio and an organization called true the vote who reported to me that they felt like they were being targeted by the internal revenue service and of course that resulted in, among other things, a letter that senator hatch and i and others wrote. and protestations by the commissioner of the i.r.s. saying, no, it was absolutely false. well, now we know that my
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constituents were telling the truth. they were targeted for their political views and what we were told by the commissioner of the internal revenue service was false. i applaud senator bachus and senator hatch for on a bipartisan basis saying that the finance committee was going to look into this as far as the i.r.s. is concerned. and i hope all other standing committees in the senate who have jurisdiction over the f.c.c., the s.e.c., h.h.s., and of course the i.r.s. will on a bipartisan basis get to the bottom of this and find out here it leads. >> for an administration that promised to be the most transparent in history, the obama administration has a credibility gap that's growing at an alarming rate. we now know that there were senior administration officials that knew about the bullying of conservative-leaning organizations. "the washington post" is reporting that confidential
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information in those conservative organizations were released to propublica. if you look at all these various things that the leaders have mentioned, whether it's fast and furious or benghazi or the s.e.c. or the f.c.c., you go right down the list, this is administration that's playing really fast and loose with the rules and should be a concern for all americans. and just as a personal example of this, last month i sent a letter to the e.p.a. because the obama administration had released the information on 80,000 farmers and ranchers to some liberal environmental groups and that included names, addresses, phone numbers, geographic coordinates, all kinds of information. 500 farm or ranch families in south dakota were impacted by that. but it's just another example of an administration that has gotten out of control when it comes to this abuse of power. and i think that this is something that ought to concern every american and hopefully as
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was pointed out these investigations and hearings get under way. we'll get more of the facts out there for the american people to have at their disposal but this is a pattern that is very, very concerning and one that i think every american who cares about the bill of rights, every taxpayer in this country ought o be very concerned about. >> the president's health care law i've been saying, it's bad for paychecks, it's bad for patients and it's bad for jobs. and now with revelations this last week, there's an additional dark cloud over the health care law. one relates to the i.r.s. these are the folks that are supposed to enforce the health care law. if you go to one of the exchanges to go to get insurance, the form that you actually send in goes to the i.r.s. i can't imagine the american people are going to be delighted hearing about what misuse of power we've seen from the i.r.s. and wanting to entrust them with their own health care. and the i.r.s. is hoping to hire
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up to 15,000 additional agents to enforce the president's health care law. the second is that have kathleen sebelius, the secretary of health and human services. who has been going to private companies asking for money to then use to promote the president's health care law. this is what i call the sebelius shakedown and what i want to know is what is she promising those businesses that she talks to and what is she threatening them with? remember kathleen sebelius has been found in violation of the hatch act during the 2012 presidential election. now she's shaking down companies, executives throughout the country. why? looking for money to cover over and cover up the train wreck that is happening with the president's health care law. >> well, nothing scares the american people like the three r-s. rs, i-
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d if reports are true, including the one that senator hatch just made about writing the i.r.s. and getting misinformation back, the report was that the acting commissioner, steven miller, learned about this in may of 2012 and in responding to members of the house, members of the senate, and a committee in the house, re-- failed to answer the question with information he had. if that's true, if he was aware of the conservative groups were being targeted and was asked about that and gave incorrect information, he should step aside or be removed and this is something that we shouldn't tolerate. the administration shouldn't tolerate it and the american people wouldn't want us to tolerate it. >> last wednesday in the appropriations subcommittee that has the responsibility for the the -- [captioning performed by
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national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> you can see all of this in our overnight schedule on c-span or at c-span.org. the shouse coming back in now for votes. 1580 and senate concurrent resolution 10. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote and remaining votes will be five minutes. 9 vote on the motion, mr. goodlatte to suspend the rules h.r. 180 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number , a bill to encourage blue alert plans throughout the united states to disseminate when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. the speaker pro tempore: will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote.
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[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 406, the nays
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are two. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from oregon, mr. walden, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1580 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will roar the -- report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1580, a bill to affirm the policy of the united states regarding internet governance. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 413, the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is vote on the motion of the the gentlewoman from michigan, mrs. miller, to agree to senate concurrent resolution 10 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: concurrent resolution authorizing the use of
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emancipation hall in the capitol visitor center for an event to celebrate the birthday of king kamehameha. the speaker pro tempore: members will record their vote by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of epresentatives.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 411, the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the concurrent resolution is agreed to. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the house will come to order. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> give a one-minute speech. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise?
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>> i ask unanimous consent to remove my name from h.r. 676 the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the house will be in order. please remove all conversations off the floor. the house is prepared to entertain one-minutes. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i rise in support of repealing the affordable care act and present vebting the citizens of dealing with higher health costs and more government intrusion in their health care. as we near the full implementation of the health care law, every day we receive more evidence that this will increase health care costs and place enormous burdens on small business owners and insert more
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big government. my district in northeastern ohio is home to several medical device manufacturers which will be hurt by the health care laws. it is crucial we repeal this law nd replace it with jobs. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> today i rise to honor the amazing virginia d. williams of livermore, california, who will e honored this saturday at the amgen tour. there is a profound difference in the. she is a call-back volunteer who talks to cancer patients to
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determine if their needs are being met. she spends time talking with recently diagnosed breast cancer patients to relieve their concerns. as one of the walnut creek american cancer society look good, feel better coordinateors, deteaches women who are undergoing radiation to pick out wigs. she has survived cancer. and battling a neurological disorder but hasn't let that slow her down. she is a true inspiration. i'm lucky to represent her in the united states congress and look forward to seeing her this weekend on the amgen tour. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and
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extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, in 2009, the college commencement address, president obama joked he could use the internal revenue service to target political enemies. it appears that officials at the internal revenue service had the last laugh. on friday, the i.r.s. admitted to political profiling of conservative groups and senior level officials were aware of these actions as far back as 2011. this on top of new revelations in the ongoing benghazi terrorist attack, one could say it is a bad week for the white house. yesterday, it was reported that the justice department used a subpoena to obtain phone records without notifying ap. it has been a bad week for the white house and worst week for the constitution. the american people deserve answers from the white house concerning these abuses.
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the constitutional probings of a free press are safe. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from -- for what purpose does gentlelady from district of columbia seek recognition? ms. norton: permission to address the house for one minute d revise and accept my remarks. ms. norton: they are going to a former joint chief of staff and former ambassador of investigation but the investigation was not talking points. it was, and i'm quote, whether the attacks were security related, whether the systems and procedures were adequate and implemented properly. they have found that they most definitely were not resulting in
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four tragic deaths. talking points say a lot about bureaucratic infighting. we have yet to get to the investigation of the causes and how to prevent another benghazi. that is our mission. let's get to it this week. i yield back. . . . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rise? mr. poe: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: when i went to the soviet union in the 1980's, the communist leaders told me they believed in and had a free suppress and also had free speech. however i also learned that soviet law prohibited these free throw doms when they jeopardize state secrets or national security as we call it in america. the state secret provision was so broad the soviet press and
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speech were gagged and shackled. they certainly were not free. now we learn that our department of justice improperly seized without notice phone records of over 100 associated press journalists, all in the name of national security concerns. to me, this is a clear violation of the spirit and letter of the first amendment. these actions border on the soviet method of legalizing these freedoms but never allowing them system of it's time to revisit u.s. law and require in all cases judicial review where these types of records are seized. we cannot allow our government to arbitraryly abolish the first amendment in the name of state secrets, and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman's time has expired. the gentleman -- for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman
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is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to bring further attention to the fact that unless congress takes definitive action, student loan interest rates will double on july 1. with that in mind, i proudly support h.r. 1595, introduced by congressman joe courtney, and other bills that would keep student interest rates frozen at their reasonable rates for the next two years. right now, college tuition is spiraling beyond what many students and their families can afford. in many instances students are being forced to leave school buzz they're accruing so much debt. at the university of san diego or u.c. san diego or other schools in my district, students are relying on taos keep loan rates low. my own education was made possible by student loans and work study and we must ensure that today's generation of students has the same opportunity to attend college that i and so many of us had. i ask my colleagues to support h.r. 1595 and i yield back my
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time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> we once had a political party known has the know-nothings. now we have a president that wants us to believe he knows nothing. he wants us to believe he knows nothing about who decided to blame the terrorist attack in benghazi on a video. he wants us to believe he knew nothing about the i.r.s. scandal until he read the same press report you and i read. he wants us to believe he knows thing about the national security council subpoenaing months of the associated press' records. what happened to the difes harry truman when he placed a pla card
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on his desk that says, the buck stops here? perhaps, sadly, we have returned to the days where the question to the president of the united states ought to be, what did you know and when did you know it? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> today, i joined gym braden bridensteine -- jim ability to ress the decide the number of terms a representative can serve. i believe it will make congress more responsive to the needs of the american public. many inryelieve congress isocused on
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re-election to the detriment of solving our country's problems. mr. o'roark: they are concerned about the gerrymandered districts where the eptive chooses his constituency and not the other way. we want to institute reforms to fix these. fixing congressional redistricting process and moving forward with sensible term limits can improve how congress works. i urge all of my colleagues to join in this reform agenda. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise to pay spesht tribute to the men and women who answered the call of duty to serve their community, to those who place their lives on the line each and every tai for their neighbors. this week we celebrate national li week, i want t thank the
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police officen my district who exemplify what it means t serve and protect. mr. paulsen: i meet regularly, have the distinct honor to meet regularly with law enforcement officers and leaders in my law enforcement round tables. we are blessed to have such patrolling ficers our streets. i thank the officers whose perseverance brought closure to families of victims of domestic violence. mr. speaker, as we go about our busy lives, let's take time to thank the police officers in our communities and keep the memory of those who have lost our lives in -- their lives in our thoughts and prayers. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman
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is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. there was a recent survey of about 9,000 outstanding high school and college students and graduates. asking them where they would like to work. they had 200 companies that were all in the "fortune" magazine list of top companies and that group of students from ages 15 to 27, the number one choice was st. jude's children hospital in memphis, tennessee. it seek -- it speaks well of that group of young people that they want to work to help others to find a cure for cancer and to work at st. jude which is such a wonderful institution in my home city of memphis. eight of the 25 sites selected by the young people were in the health care field. i think it's admirable and commendable that so many young people want to help others and do it through efforts in the health care industry, not necessarily in ways to enrich
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themselves. i am proud they chose st. jude because it's just in my district. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and rhett re-my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, it is humbling for me every single day to walk onto the house floor knowing they represent the former district held by abraham lincoln in central illinois. in 1863, during his gettysburg address, president lincoln spoke of our democracy by saying it is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. yet what we have seen over the last 48 hours is nothing close to a government for the people. does a government of the people target specific groups of individuals, especially groups that oppose the president's
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viewpoints? does a government by the people obtain the phone records of reporters in what appears to be a violation of fers amendment rights? does a government for the people refuse to accept responsibility and instead place blame wherever they can? the answer, of course, is no. public trust in goth is at an all-time low and partisan actions by this administration will continue the deterioration of that trust. we have been called to washington by our constituents to work together in a bipartisan fashion for the best interests of our country, so i ask that we put politics aside, mr. speaker, lead by example, and work together, work together to keep the trust of the american public. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to talk about commonsense actions
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we must take to fix the health care law. i wasn't in congress in march of 2010, and i didn't vote for the affordable care act, but i'm here today to ensure that it meets the needs of small businesses and middle class families. that's why i spent a lot of time listening to small business owners and staff, to seniors and to hospital employees and physicians in arizona about their concerns. and it's why i co-sponsored legislation to repeal the medical device tax and the annual tax on health insurance and the independent payment advisory board. these actions will protect families and small businesses from premium hikes and protect access to health care for seniors and all americans. this is why i'm working with the citizens of green valley in my district to keep health care affordable by protecting the tax deduction for medical expenses. these are but a few examples of how we can come together to fix this law and i will continue to
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work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and to find additional ways to do so. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new hampshire seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. sexual assault in the military has reached a crisis point. a recent report from the department of defense found that the number of service members who have experienced unwanted sexual contact has increased by more than 30% over the past two years, from 19,000 to 26,000 people. these numbers are staggering, but they're more than just statistics. behind every number is the story of a member of our armed services who stepped forward to serve our country. ms. kuster: they're people like my constituent, judy
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atwood-bell, a hudson, new hampshire, resident who enlisted at age 17 to further her education and live the american dream. at 19, she was raped by a fellow soldier and suffered sexual harassment in silence throughout her career. after 20 years of service, she sought help and was eventually diagnosed with ptsd related to military sexual trauma. our military leadership, the chain of command, and the veterans administration failed to protect judy and thousands of victims like her who suffer from sexual assaults. we owe it to judy and every other survivor to come together in a bipartisan manner to confront this epidemic head on. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. are there any further requests for one-minute speechs? the chair lays before the house the following personal requests.
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the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. clyburn of south carolina for today and the balance of he the week, mr. culberson of texas for today, -- for today. and mrs. ellmers of north carolina for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from indiana, mr. metzeler, are recognized for 30 minutes as the -- for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. >> i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislate i days to revise and extend -- to revise and extend their rashes on the subject of the special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.
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mr. messer: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in another freshman republican special order to talk about a vote to repeal obut macare. those on the other side of the aisle proudly refer to this health care law as obamacare. we should neither be proud of the process that led us to this point nor the resulting policy mess. the 2,800 page bill was crafted behind closed doors and rushed through congress in 2010 with limited debate and without amendment. the predictable result is a flawed product that expands the federal government's role in health care, raises taxes on employers, and mandates benefits that will increase health care costs the mt. remark health care costs for most. remarkably, there have been already 20,000 pages of regulations issued regarding
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this bill's implementation. i'd like to start by recognizing my distinguished colleague the gentlelady from missouri for three minutes for remarks on his important issue. >> i thank the gentleman for yielding and i rise in support of h.r. 45 a bill that will repeal the president's devastating health care reform law commonly referred to as obamacare. promoting health care reform legislation to the american public, the president and members of his party told people that if you liked your health insurance then you could keep it, that the penalty americans have to pay under the individual mandate was not a tax, and that those with pre-existing conditions would have access to health care. as many of us suspected then, these claims were nothing more than blatant lies.
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ms. wagner: in fact the congressional budget office said seven million people will lose their job-based health insurance due to obamacare and the supreme court affirmed that obamacare penalties are indeed taxes and on february 15, the obama administration announced they would not cover over 40,000 patients suffering from pre-existing conditions. . this should not happen in america. we need to repeal this law and need to do it now. today, not fully implemented. obamacare has many destructive effects on the american people, real people with bills to pay, mouths to feed. many of the new taxes in the president's $1 trillion tax hike have gone into effect most of which targets the middle class, increase the cost of health care. the law continues to takes its
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toll on small business. i hear from mom and pop operations that are not hiring needed workers or reducing full-time employees to part-time workers for the sole purpose of keeping their doors open as a consequence. and the ict pakistan on jobs is already unmistakable. it promised jobs almost immediately. yet, we know the truth. obamacare is destroying jobs and costing the american dream for millians of americans. just today, a missouri hospital announced it was eliminating 129 good-paying jobs, the reason, obamacare. these are the facts. these are the real facts and this is hurting real people. premiums continue to rise across the country, premiums have grown
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$300,000 despite promises that obamacare would decrease premiums $2,500. they are expected to double, triple and quadruple when provisions of the law go into effect next year. the young people in this country are struggling to find jobs, pay off student loans. these young people will be stuck between paying for insurance they cannot afford and being subject to burdensome tax. will close by addressing the irresponsible law called obamacare. despite promises, it has gutted medicare to the tune of $716 billion. nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars stolen to pay for this devastating law. every day more and more doctors are refusing to see medicare
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patients because they cannot afford to do so. is this how we pay back our seniors. reduced benefits and reduced access to health care, we owe them more. we owe the american people more. mr. speaker, the facts are clear, this law is wrong for america and needs to be repealed immediately before any more of its harmful provisions are implemented. mr. messer: many of the promises to justify obamacare's enactment have been broken. the results of these broken promises are hurting workers and businesses today and will hurt them even more in the future, which is why house republicans will be voting to repeal this this week. we will look at some of those
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broken promises. i would like to recognize my good friend, my colleague from . rth carolina mr. pittenger: mr. speaker, this isn't affordable. the c.b.o. says it will cost $1 trillion to employ. blew cross/blue shield says the premiums are going to go up 284%. 700,000 people will notble l be able to afford it. even though the democrats and max balk cuss says this is a train wreck ready to happen. i sponsoredal seminar in my district that brought together 400 business leaders and the purpose was to explain
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obamacare. we had the cato institute and aarp and what they heard was what have we done? they were so concerned about what obamacare was going to do to their businesses and thought they would let people go. you know what they saw? this chart. this chart. what a quagmire. the process to try to get real health care. it can't be done. we can do better. that's why i have introduced a bill called auto enroll. this is a little provision put in the health care law, one of those provisions that speaker pelosi said we are going to read it after we vote on it and learn about it then. we learned about it. what have we learned? the companies had to automatically put people on their hement care plan. and this bill says no, you can opt out and don't have to comply. students who are on their
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parents' health care, they shouldn't have to do this. you have temporary people orking and restaurants, they shouldn't have to be on this ks yet they are required to. this bill will allow the flexibility for employers. the american people were told we are going to provide you a horse that is going to win the kentucky derby. they got a maimed, wlindr blind, deaf horse that can't make its way around the track. we are going to provide for the american people with the right time and do this in competitive markets and cross the state lines, hundreds of companies competing, drawing down the cost needs to be done now. we can get rid of the frivolous health law suits that are
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driving the cost of health care up. the american workers, hard-working taxpayers are going to do it. god bless you. mr. messer: i would like to recognize my good friend, distinguished the gentleman from utah, mr. stuart. mr. stewart: i have been blessed to do a lot of fun things and do interesting jobs. i was an fair force pilot. i was a writer and wrote 15 books, but the hardest job, without question, the hardest job was to be a small business owner. as a small business owner, you fight every day to make ends meet. you care about your employees. your employees become your family. and one of the funnest things to do is hire people but one of the hardest things to do and one of
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the most discouraging things you have to do is lay people off. but that is exactly what has happened in the business that i owned. that is exactly what is happening now. and that is what is going to continue to happen. jobs are being killed by the implementation of obamacare. and that's not a statistic. that isn't some government projection or some estimation from c.b.o. that is a fact. it is a reality. obamacare is killing economic activity. obamacare is killing jobs. and it's only going to get worse. there's a reason that the democrats -- and i'm not talking about the republicans, i'm talking about democratic leaders, there is a reason they are calling obamacare a train wreck. there's a reason why nancy pelosi said we have to pass this
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bill before we can find out what's in it. this is like taking off the lid off a garbage can that has been sitting in the sun too long. the more we know about this egislation, the worst it is. 400%. 400%. that's how much some people's premiums are going to go up because of the implementation of obamacare. the president promised, in fact, the entire purpose of the affordable care act was to drive premiums down and instead, we see exactly the opposite. 30%, 80%, 400% increases in health care premiums. all of us americans have become familiar with new words. we have learned about sequester. we heard a lot about the fiscal
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cliff. and the new government phrase of the year is going to be rate shock. you're going to hear about that all the time beginning this fall, because people will be shocked. and businesses will be shocked and jobs will be lost and people will be hurt because of the implementation of obamacare. please, let's take the opportunity to repeal it now. we can do better. we can right something and design something that is better. let's take the opportunity to do that. thank you for this little bit of time, mr. speaker and i yield back. mr. messer: i thank the gentleman for his remarks. i would quote for you, broken promiseum obamacare, if you like your current health care plan, you will be able to keep it. not true.
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the congressional budget office estimates that nearly seven million people will lose their employer-sponsored health care coverage under obamacare. i would like to yield to the gentleman from new york, representative collins. mr. collins: mr. speaker, the american public is often concerned there is not enough agreement in the halls of congress. i'm pleased to report there is growing agreement among both parties and in both houses of congress that obamacare is truly a train wreck as recently described by senator baucus and this piece of legislation being implemented and the negative impact it will have is becoming help cover its growing price tag. my 86-year-old mom is happy with
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the health care coverage they receive through medicare advantage. i have news for you. you can't keep your existing plan as promised because obamacare effectively ends it. and what the administration could not raid from other sources to pay for obamacare, it makes up in new taxes. just last week, as chairman of the small business subcommittee on health and technology, i heard from the small business owners and advocates about the impact the health insurance tax will have on the bottom line of business owners. e tax will be $8 billion and increasing to $14 billion and increases based on premium trends thereafter. supporters of obamacare will say these fees are supposed to be paid by the health insurance companies. but common sense substantiated
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by health insurance studies, the health insurance companies are passing these costs to consumers in the form of higher costs. companies are not hiring and reducing employee hours. all this at a time when national employment remains embarrassingly high. obamacare is built on the premise that the young and the healthy will pay to ensure the old and the sick. guess what? the young and the healthy are too smart to have their pockets picked. he the young and the healthy are going to drop out of the insurance market and instead pay the $95 penalty and their occupy medical expenses. they know this approach will be cheaper than paying thousands of dollars of paying for a family plan. it is like not buying cligse
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insurance on a new car because you know you can get it after being in a wreck. supporters like to tout all those free things that obamacare offers. that sales pitch crystalizes what is wrong with obamacare and tax-and-spend policies this town is famous for. nothing is free in this world. for every free service that obamacare offers, somewhere out there in america is paying for it with their hard-earned money or worst yet, we will add a few more bucks on to our staggering debt to cover this so-called free service. this country can't afford obamacare figuratively. it must be repealed and needs to be replaced with commonsense cost-effective ways to improve health care in this country. mr. speaker, i yield back. .
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>> i thank the gentleman for his remarks, i would now like to recognize the gentlelady from indiana. >> i rise today in strong support of h.r. 45, the repeal of the affordable care act. obamacare is bad for the young and for the elderly. i recently received a letter from a high school senior in my district. she noted that her fam lip's out of pocket premium costs have risen $,000 in recent -- her family's out of pocket preem utah costs have risen $7,000 in recent years. she wonders how she's going to pay for health care on her own in the future. she's right to worry. according to a study published in "actuary magazine," 70% of americans urn the age of 30 will face a premium increase because of obamacare. the costs of omacare are more
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than monetary. americans will also have fewer health care choices buzz of it. specifically the independent payment advisory board will threaten the options available today to medicare recipients. this board of 15 officials will get to choose which treatments and which procedures medicare will reimburse and which it will not. what a doctor preveebs -- prescribes or what a patient needs will come second if at all. the ipab is unelected and won't report to members of congress or any elected official. ms. brooks: the budget nor board is given directly bethe executive branch. ipab doesn't even have to justify its finances to the public. my friends on the other side of the aisle like to say republicans want to change medicare as we know it, but in fact, it is obamacare that is changing medicare. putting bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be between senior citizens and their doctors. repealing obamacare will right this wrong for the young and for our seniors -- seniorsful i urge
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adoption of this important bill and yield back. sproy i thank the gentlelady for her remarks. i would next like to recognize my good friend from the state of florida, representative -- mr. messer: i thank the gentleman for her remarks, i would like to recognize the gentleman from florida. mr. owe hoe: i stand in -- mr. yoho: it's not just house republicans who want to repeal the law, it's the american people. the people of my district overwhelmingly desire the repeal of this legislative debacle. let's face it new york 2009, with a democratic caucus, this bill was passed through in march in the twilight hours. the speaker said, and i think we all remember those infamous words, we have to pass it to see what's in it. we have to pass it, to see how it's going to work.
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america deserves better. american december serve better and demand bert. the affordable care act is the number one job-killing bill in america. when the president speaks of job creation and stimulating the economy, the 800-pound gorilla in the room that nobody talks about is the affordable care act. it's the number one job-killing bill, bar none. a couple of examples, i had a person call in today, this young lady said, one of my constituents, said that even though she doesn't have insurance it's because she doesn't have a job and the reason she doesn't have a job is because of this bill. it's getting in the way of job creation. another business owner i know, he's got 350 employees. i asked him how the effects of this bill was going to affect his business. he said, let me tell you about this bill. i could expand my business right now and i could add 100 new employees, but i'm not doing anything because of the
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estimated cost of this bill. think about that. that's one man's bill, or one man's business in one town in america. how many businesses in america throughout this country are not expanding because of this bill and the uncertainty? it's got to stop. there's a county in my destruct, clay county. i was talking to one of the municipal people there that was in charge of the health care. he said the estimated costs coming up because of the affordable care act was going to cost $15 million. $15 million. then they figured out if they didn't comply with the affordable care act, what that cost would be. it would be $5 million. what choice do you think they're going to make? they're either going to lay off people or they're going to not cover people. they'll pay the fine. there's, in my hometown in alachua county, there's a contractor with 51 employees.
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he'sed bying on a job against a -- he's bidding on a job against a company with 49 employees. the estimated cost to him is $,000 per employee. the contractor withis starting on the same line with 49 and he's going to owe $100,000 more. he said the most commonsense thing to do is lay off people so i don't have to pay for that. i hear this story over and over and other againful it seems the president himself doesn't like his plan that much either. despite the glowing speech he is give he president himself has signed into law, he has signed into law himself, mr. speaker, peals of certain obamacare provisions on seven different occasions. when he claimed his plan would low they are cost of health care for american he is left out the fact that about seven million americans would just lose their health care altogether.
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estimated insurance costs for younger, for the younger general thrarkse can expect their insurance premiums to increase from what they are today, 150% to 175%. when the president claimed under his plan no family making less than $250,000 a year would see taxes increase, he completely left out the fact that there are 21 new taxes in this bill, and these are taxes that are on not just the wealthy but all americans, at all income levels. it's a bad bill and this is not what america wants. the whole point of the affordable care act was to create health reform. which implies not just health care but health prevention. but what happens is with this bill, the supreme court said, after three and a half years of reviewing it, they said it's not health care, it's a health tax. and the bottom line is, it's
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going to create where people have less insurance. and then we have to think about who will collect these taxes? the i.r.s. the very same i.r.s. that is under a criminal investigation we found out today. americans don't want this. americans are a caring, generous, and charitable people. we will always make sure that the least fortunate among us are cared for. the president's plan doesn't care for the less fortunate. in fact, it makes us all less fortunate. our vote this week is not about politics, it's about being responsive to the people and adhearing to the constitution. we represent the people who are being hurt the most by the obamacare bill and we owe it to them to relieve them of this burden. if we truly want to create jobs, the full repeal of obamacare is the first step in jump starting
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our economy. i'm proud and thankful to be able to be part of the process of repealing this legislative disaster and replace it with a commonsense health care reform and i yield back my time and thank you. mr. messer: i thank the gentleman for his comments. i thank my colleagues for their stamina and patience. i would next like to recognize my good friend the straight alking member from oklahoma, r. braden stein. >> i thank the gentleman for allowing me to speak on this issue. under this ine: obamacare we have many new
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taxes, taxes on medical devices, taxes on the sell of real estate, taxes on other capital gains, 21 new taxes, $500 billion is the conservative estimate. some people say it's going to be $1.1 trillion new dollars in tax revenue. but guess what, it's not enough system of there's also going to be $500 billion in new borrowing over the first 10 years of obamacare and it's still not enough. so we're going to rob $716 billion from medicare. at a time when seniors are finding it hard to find providers who are willing to accept medicare as it is. this is usually problematic for the people -- this is hugely problematic for the people in my district. employers are seeking ways to reduce their staffs below 50 people. they're laying people off, no kid, i talked to an employer a few weeks ago in my district, he's got 57 employees, he's trying to get down to 49. he's also trying to figure out ways to get his staff so they're part time, try to -- trying to
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get is with -- -- to get his staff under 29 hours so he has less than 50 pull full time equivalent. this is going to be a disaster for the employment prospects of the people in my district and let's talk about how this is administered. it's going to be administered by the i.r.s. so everyone has to have the health insurance that perfectly conforms to what the president wants them to have. it used to be that there was a time when my wife and i had insurance where we had a high deductible and low premium. we had a little bit of savings, wanted to save money on the premium so we were willing to accept a high deductible, willing to accept a little risk upon ourselves to save money. that's not available under obamacare. and it's going to be enforced by the i.r.s. if you have that high deductible, low premium plcy or if you have a policy that they call a cadillac plan, you're going to be penalized. those penalties have been ruled by the supreme court to be taxes but they are penalties for not conforming to what the president
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wants you to have in health insurance. that penalty if you don't have the right health insurance is going to be 2.5% of our -- of your income. if you make $50,000 a year, your penalty is $1250rks. or you could pay the premium. if the comprehensive health care obamacare requires, that premium is likely to be $7,000 or pay the penalty, $1,250. what are most people going to pay? they'll pay the penalty. why? because they can't exempt you far pre-existing condition, so you can pay the penalty and when you get sick, go to the doctor and get the health insurance you need and when you're healthy drop your health insurance again this creates an adverse selection. this is a big problem. if you want to see health insurance premiums skyrocket, let's only ensure -- insure the people who are sick. that's exactly what this bill does. let's talk for a second about the expansion of medicaid under obamacare. i'm proud of the state of oklahoma for not expanding
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medicaid under obamacare. this is a teaser rate. this is a time when the federal government comes in and says, we're going to fully expand your medicaid expansion up to 138% of the poverty line for the first three years. then, we're going to pull the rug out from under you and the state of oklahoma is going to be faced with challenges. what are we going to cut? maybe we'll cut education. maybe we'll cut the department of transportation in the state of oklahoma. maybe we'll raise taxes. this is just another way for the federal government to addict states to a program that ultimately they'll pull the rug out from under the program and the state of oklahoma is going to be forced to carry this load and i'm proud of governor mary fallin for not expanding medicaid under obamacare. i thank the gentleman for allowing me to express my view, i fully support 46r789 r. 45, the repeal of owaugh macare. mr. messer: i would like to inquire as to the amount of time we have left.
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the speaker pro tempore: approximately 30 minutes. mr. messer: 30 minutes? the speaker pro tempore: yes. mr. messer: great, we're right on pace. i would next like to recognize my good friend the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. roth fuss. - mr. rothsfuss. >> president obama made many promises, he promised it would increase jobs, increase access to health care, create -- promote economic growth and wouldn't add to the deficit, wouldn't raise taxes on the middle class. he promised that if you like your health care plan you could keep it. he said it would lower the cost of premiums he said that it would strengthen medicare.
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r. rothfus: three years later, president obama's health care law has proven to be a string of broken promises. we are seeing premiums rise. one business in my district expects a 26% increase in its premiums totaling more than $30,000. that's $30,000 that cannot go to increasing wages for workers. another company in my district with 17 employees expects a 19% premium increase. with an annual cost of more than $20,000. companies are being forced to change their health plans and pay more for them. some companies may even drop their plans and put their employees in the obamacare exchanges. .

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